


The Cost of Eichen

by lapsus_calami



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: One Shot, Short, and i mean very very vague, post 5.16, post lie ability, vague allusions to stydia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-19 15:41:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5972758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lapsus_calami/pseuds/lapsus_calami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time they went to Eichen House to save Lydia they lost Allison. Scott shouldn’t have expected the second time to go any different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cost of Eichen

**The Cost of Eichen**

The first time they went to Eichen House to save Lydia there was an unspoken expectation that they’d all make it back out. They’d all made it this far, so why would it change now?

Losing Allison had been the worst sort of wake up call. A chilling realization that none of them were safe, none of them were guaranteed to make it through everything alive, and none of them were more vulnerable than those who were only human. 

The first time they went to Eichen House to save Lydia they lost Allison.

Scott shouldn’t have expected the second time to go any different. 

* * *

His heartbeat was slow. Too slow. And it wasn’t picking up.

“What’s happening? Deaton, what’s wrong!”

He wasn’t waking up. He wasn’t opening his eyes.

“I don’t know, Scott. Call 911.” 

* * *

There was a part of Scott that wanted Stiles to leave Beacon Hills. He wasn’t like Scott; he wasn’t bound irrevocably to the things that were happening here. But Scott knew there was no way Stiles would ever leave. He may not have been bound to Beacon Hills in the same way Scott was, but he was tied to it all the same. 

There was a part of Scott wanted to tell Stiles to stay behind when they went to get Lydia, to stay as far from Eichen as possible or stay on the outside with Mason as Plan B at the very least. But Stiles would never agree to those terms. 

He wouldn’t be Stiles if he did. 

And the fact of the matter was that, for today, Stiles being human was what made him the most valuable piece in their plan. 

* * *

“Hey. Lydia, Lydia, hey, hey, hey. Look. You’re gonna get through this, okay? Lydia, look at me, you’re gonna make it.” 

Stiles’ voice was strained but soft, solid in his belief at what he was saying. It soothed over Scott’s nerves as the gearshift shook in his grip, the gears grinding as he tried to shift from third to fourth. Lydia’s heartbeat was weak in his still ringing ears from her last scream, and the only thought running through Scott’s mind was,  _not again, not again, please not again_. 

Scott flexed his hands around the steering wheel sucking in careful breaths. 

They were okay. Everyone was okay. Everything would be okay. 

“But you’re not.” 

Stiles’ heartbeat jumped then settled out while Scott’s kept on thundering hard against his sternum. The sharp smell of Stiles’ blood flooded Scott’s senses. It was like a bomb being dropped in spite of Lydia’s weak tone, and Scott clenched his hands around the steering wheel once more hearing it creak a little under his grip. 

Something fragile broke in his chest, and Scott slammed the jeep into fifth flooring the gas pedal as far down as it would go. 

They were okay. Everyone was okay. They had to be. 

* * *

It had been him and Stiles for as long as he could remember at this point. 

Scott and Stiles. 

Stiles and Scott. 

The two of them against the world. 

For some reason a part of him had expected that to never change.

* * *

There was a moment of clarity after it was all over. A moment when they just looked at each other—Lydia in her mom’s arms, Deaton in the corner by the table, and Stiles closing his eyes in relief. A moment when Scott let the band in his chest ease and thought for one glorious moment that they all made it through this time. 

He should know better by now. 

Stiles looked at him, a trail of blood still dripping from his left ear, and it took Scott a moment to identify the expression on his face. A pinched look of pain as he raised a shaking hand to his temple and took two short steps towards the table reaching out for support. Then he collapsed without a word. 

And the world shattered with him.

* * *

“Scott, call an ambulance.” 

“What’s wrong? He wasn’t…he wasn’t…” His fingers shook as he dialed in the numbers, having to start over twice when he tapped the wrong numbers. The sound of the ringing on the other end was every bit as deafening as the weak pulse of Stiles’ heart. 

“Scott, what’s wrong? Is he okay? Scott?” 

“He’s fine, Lydia.” The lie tasted bitter on his tongue, and the phone was still ringing in his ear. “He’s fine. Just passed out.” 

* * *

There was an idea in the world that was fundamentally incorrect. 

There was an idea that there would always be another day after this one.

That there would always be more time. 

To say sorry. 

To say I love you. 

To say anything. 

To say everything.

* * *

Scott stared at the hospital waiting room floor, fingers laced before him. As long as he sat here, sat still and didn’t move, then all of this could just be a dream.

It was an intracerebral hemorrhage. When blood suddenly burst into the brain tissue causing damage to the brain. Basically it was a stroke. In young people they were usually caused by a head injury or a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. 

In this case the doctors didn’t have an explanation for why. 

Scott did.  

There were complications to be expected if he woke up. Impaired language skills, memory loss, confusion, seizures, depression, vision or hearing problems. 

If. 

If he woke up. 

* * *

The first time they went to Eichen House to save Lydia they lost her best friend. 

The second time they went to Eichen House they lost Scott’s.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Thoughts, complaints, or whatever else may be left here or on my [tumblr](http://little-red-and-his-wolves.tumblr.com)!


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